Arrests of Gaza fishermen continue despite ceasefire agreement

Gaza man dies after being shot by Israeli troops in Rafah
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 1 Dec – A young Palestinian man died late Friday night of wounds he sustained hours earlier by Israeli gunfire east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Palestinian medical sources confirmed Saturday that 21-year-old Mahmoud Jaroun was hit by a gunshot to the pelvis Friday evening, and was evacuated to Abu Yousif An-Najjar Hospital in Rafah before medics announced his death around midnight. On Friday, 11 Palestinians sustained wounds by Israeli fire along the borders between the Gaza Strip and Israel. Since a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip was brokered by Egypt, Israeli forces have breached that ceasefire several times firing at Palestinian farmers near the borders. Two Palestinians have been shot dead so far and about 40 have been injured. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=543756

15 fishermen arrested and 6 fishing boats confiscated and destroyed
PNN 29 Nov — The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns Israel’s violations against Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip, which continue in spite of the Israeli authorities’ announcement of allowing the fishermen to fish up to 6 nautical miles off the Gaza shore … PCHR documented Israeli violations committed against Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza sea between Thursday, 22 November 2012, (the first day of the enforcement of the truce deal) and Thursday, 29 November 2012. These violations were as follows: *On Monday, 26 November 2012, Israeli gunboats intercepted a fishing boat while it sailed at 8 nautical miles out of the Gaza city shore. According to fisherman Amjad Ismail Ahmed al-Sherafi (38) from Gaza, at approximately 09:30, he and his brother Mohammad (34) sailed their in the Gaza waters when an Israeli gunboat intercepted him and forced him to stop at gunpoint and sail back without pulling his fishing nets out of the sea….
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/politics/3247-15-fishermen-arrested-and-6-fishing-boats-confiscated-and-destroyed

rather too optimistic an article, considering the above:Access eased for Gaza farmers and fishermen
B’Tselem updated 28 Nov — Media reports state that in the ceasefire negotiations to end Operation Pillar of Defense, Israel and Hamas reached understandings that include the easing of restrictions on the movement of farmers and fishermen in the Gaza Strip. Among other things, it was agreed that the Israeli military would permit Gaza farmers to cultivate plots located up to 100 meters from the Israel-Gaza perimeter fence. This is a change from the official Israeli prohibition of recent years which forbade any approach closer than 300 meters from the fence. In addition, Gaza fishermen may now fish up to six nautical miles (approximately 11 km) from the Gaza coast, compared with the 3-mile limit imposed prior to Operation Pillar of Defense. B’Tselem welcomes the change in policy regarding the presence of Palestinians in areas near the perimeter fence.
In recent years, B’Tselem has documented many instances in which the military fired live ammunition at Palestinian farmers and workers who came within 300 meters of the fence. There have even been cases in which the military fired at Palestinians that were as far as 1.5 km from the fence.http://www.btselem.org/gaza_strip/20121127_restrictions_eased

Working in Gaza when your family is on the front line / Hazel Ward
AFP Behind the News — For AFP’s team of Gaza-based journalists, a flare up of violence with Israel is nothing new — with bombings, air strikes and death and destruction all part-and-parcel of living in this tiny strip of land. But covering this latest round of violence was tough, with round-the-clock Israeli air strikes hammering residential and business districts that were once thought of relatively safe, exposing AFP staff and their families to a new level of risk … When a missile is fired from an F16 or a drone, it is a matter of seconds before it hits, says Mai Yaghi, a 29-year-old reporter who has worked for AFP for five years, and who is currently eight months pregnant. “There is no time to run or to hide anywhere. You hear the sound of a missile being fired and it is a matter of seconds.” … “One morning, I woke up for my 5am shift and my brother was sleeping on the couch. I heard the sound of a missile being fired and I saw the fire go past the window. I didn’t even have time to scream. I thought it was going to hit us and all I could think was that at least he would die peacefully in his sleep,” she says. “It was very close, maybe 200 metres away.” All of the staff said the hardest part were having to cope with the demands of work alongside the constant worry about whether your family was safe.
http://blogs.afp.com/correspondent/?post/2012/11/30/Working-Gaza-when-your-family-is-on-the-front-line

Diary of a war: The Safe Room
Ma‘an 30 Nov by Ahmed Ferwana — This is the fourth in a series of journal entries documenting life in Gaza during Israel’s Operation Pillar of Cloud. Previous entries can be read here.November 17: At around 4 a.m., I was levitated, astonished, off my bed because of an explosion whose sound, strength, and effect I had never experienced before. It was Nov. 17 and with that heavy airstrike I started the day. I turned on all the lights in the house, and as I headed back to my room, another rock-and-roll airstrike took place — causing the house to shake, and spreading fear among my family members as they rushed out of their bedrooms. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=542644

Land theft / Ethnic cleansing / Judaization

Israel to build 3,000 settler homes after UN vote
[with map of the E-1 area] BBC 30 Nov — Israel has authorised the construction of 3,000 more housing units in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, according to Israeli officials. It is also speeding up the processing of 1,000 planning permissions. The decision comes a day after a vote at the UN General Assembly upgraded the Palestinians’ status at the UN to that of non-member observer state … An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said some of the new units would be built between Jerusalem and the settlement of Maaleh Adumim. Plans to build settlements in the area, known as E1, are strongly opposed by Palestinians, who say the development will cut the West Bank in two, preventing the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20552391

Israel ‘to expand settlements’ over UN’s Palestine vote
JERUSALEM (Reuters) 30 Nov — Israel plans to build 3,000 new homes for its settlers in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem in defiance of a UN vote implicitly recognizing Palestinian statehood there, Israeli media reported Friday. The Ynet news site said the move had been approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s inner council of nine senior cabinet members on Thursday, as the United Nations General Assembly upgraded the Palestinians to “non-member observer state” from “entity” — a resolution Israel and Washington had opposed.http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=543690

US ‘lack of reaction’ emboldens Israel
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 30 Nov — Israel’s plans to build 3,000 new settlement units in the occupied West Bank reflects America’s “lack of reaction” to unilateral moves, the PLO’s envoy in Washington said Friday … “It is exactly the lack of reaction on behalf of the US, and others in the international community, to continued Israel violations of previous agreements that pushed us to seek intervention at the UN.’ http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=543735

A bird’s-eye view of the West Bank
Haaretz 29 Nov by Ephraim Sneh — The Israeli government is working hard to change the map on the ground, while telling the people and the world that we have no partner with whom to talk. On a recent trip back to Israel from the east, my El Al jet flew over the hills of the West Bank before making its descent into Ben-Gurion International Airport. The view from the airplane’s windows said more than a thousand words could have possibly said about the problems facing Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Almost every Israeli settlement on the ground below sported new construction, in process or complete. What I saw at a glance from the plane’s window, Abbas’ people see every day.http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/a-bird-s-eye-view-of-the-west-bank.premium-1.481365

Israel threatens to ‘reoccupy’ West Bank
IMEMC/Agencies 30 Nov — Israeli member of Knesset, Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Development and the development of the Negev and Galilee, Silvan Shalom, threatened that Israel would reoccupy the West Bank in response to the Palestinian bid at the United Nations General Assembly that won the Palestinians a nonmember observer state status….During an interview with the Israeli Radio, Shalom, of the Likud Party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accused the Palestinian Authority (P.A.) in the occupied West Bank, of violating the Oslo Agreement, and said that heading to the UN effectively “voided the peace deal, an issue that allows Israel to conduct unilateral moves”. The Palestine News Network (PNN) has reported that Shalom threatened that Israel would enforce its military control on the entire West Bankhttp://www.imemc.org/article/64671

Israeli Violence / Raids / Illegal arrests

PCHR Weekly Report: 8 dead, 44 wounded by Israeli troops this week [22-29 Nov]
IMEMC 30 Nov — …during the past week, Israeli Forces killed a Palestinian civilian in the Gaza Strip, while 5 others, including 2 civilians; one of whom is a woman, died of wounds they had sustained in the latest Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip. The Israeli Forces also wounded 42 Palestinian civilians, including 7 children, in the Gaza Strip this week. In the West Bank, 2 Palestinians civilians were wounded in peaceful protests against the annexation wall and settlement activities. Israeli attacks in the West Bank: The Israeli Forces conducted 81 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, during which they abducted 99 Palestinians, including 9 children. Of those who were abducted by the Israeli Forces, there are 6 members of the Palestinians Legislative Council (PLC) and a number of political leaders of the Islamic Jihad…. Full Report herehttp://www.imemc.org/article/64666

Israel trying to ‘break’ human right defender arrested for expressing his opinions
EI 29 Nov — The Palestinian human rights and prisoner advocacy group Addameer announced yesterday that the Israeli military has listed charges against one of its researchers, Ayman Nasser … Addameer states that Israel has subjected Nasser to detention conditions designed to break him both physically and psychologically: After being subjected to interrogation inside his home for over an hour, the IOF [Israeli occupation forces] transferred Ayman to Al Moskobiyeh interrogation center in Jerusalem. Ayman spent 39 days in interrogation at Al Moskobiyeh, during which he was subjected to lengthy sessions of intensive and harsh interrogation while being shackled to a chair with his hands behind his back, and with some of the sessions lasting for more than 20 hours a day continuously. Between interrogation sessions Ayman remained in solitary confinement in a small cell with rough grey walls, a dim yellow light and a single blanket. He was not aware at the time, but all of these measures were practiced against him in order to break him psychologically and physically. It should be noted that Ayman has several pre-existing health conditions; he suffers from severe back pain as a result of an inflammation in his spine, he also suffers from ulceration in his colon, and regularly takes five kinds of medications and pain killers.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/israel-trying-break-human-rights-defender-arrested-expressing-his

Margin of UN defeat disappoints Israel / Crispin Balmer
JERUSALEM (Reuters) 1 Dec — The margin of Israel’s defeat in a UN vote that granted de-facto statehood to Palestine has disappointed Israeli political leaders, whose attempts on Friday to play down the loss could not disguise its significance … On the ground nothing has changed. Israeli army checkpoints remain in place across the West Bank, Jewish settlers continue their daily lives and the Israeli government warns that lasting peace is more remote than ever. But the fact only three major countries sided with Israel — the United States, Canada and the Czech Republic — underscored how isolated Israel has become on the international stage when it comes to peacemaking with the Palestinians.http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=543681

Canada recalls diplomats from Israel, West Bank following UN vote
TORONTO (AP) 30 Nov — Canada’s foreign affairs minister said Friday he is reviewing the country’s relationship with the Palestinian Authority and temporarily recalling senior diplomats from Israel, the West Bank and the United Nations missions in New York and Geneva to assess the implications of Thursday’s U.N. General Assembly vote to recognize the Palestinians as a non-member observer state. John Baird said in a statement he is deeply disappointed by the U.N. vote … Baird didn’t say what Canada would do, but a senior Canadian official said Canada has no intention at this point of cutting off relations or sending Palestinian diplomats home. http://www.timesofisrael.com/canada-recalls-diplomats-from-israel-west-bank-following-un-vote/

Palestinians paint Canada as too extreme
OTTAWA and JERUSALEM (The Globe and Mail) 30 Nov — The newly boosted Palestinian Authority is planning a diplomatic campaign to isolate Canada in the Middle East, arguing Ottawa’s vitriolic stand against upgraded UN status for Palestinians has disqualified it from any role in the peace process … Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said Canada’s decision to send Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird to vote and speak at the UN and the threats of reprisal measures have cast the Harper government as too extreme and partisan to play a role in the region. Voting against the resolution is one thing, he said, but Canada’s approach is another. “I believe this government is more Israeli than the Israelis, more settler than the settlers,” he said in an interview with The Globe and Mail.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/palestinians-paint-canada-as-too-extreme/article5884121/

Netanyahu to meet with Merkel following vote
BERLIN (AP) 30 Nov — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his Cabinet will travel to Germany next week — a visit that comes after Berlin abstained in a UN vote on the recognition of a Palestinian nonmember observer state.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, says the German leader will have dinner with Netanyahu on Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s annual meeting of Cabinet members. Germany is traditionally one of Israel’s staunchest allies in Europe.http://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-to-meet-with-merkel-following-un-vote/

US Senate threatens sanctions against PA
IMEMC 30 Nov — Israeli daily, Haaretz, reported that the United States Senate threatened to block all funding to the Palestinian Authority (P.A.) in the West Bank should the Palestinians decide to sue Israel for war crimes at the International Court. Senators Lindsey Olin Graham, John Barrasso, Charles (Chuck) Schumer and Bob Menendez stated that the Palestinian Authority should not sue Israel should they join the International Criminal Court, and that President Mahmoud Abbas must go back to the negotiation table with Israel, and if they sue Israel, the United States will block all funding. The senators also threatened to shut down the office of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in Washington D.C. should the P.A. refrain from resuming peace talks with Tel Aviv. http://www.imemc.org/article/64664

Video: Palestinians celebrate status upgrade at UN
Al Jazeera 30 Nov — Jubilant Palestinians have rejoiced at the historic – but largely symbolic – vote at the UN General Assembly in New York granting them non-member observer status. Celebrations took place overnight in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera’s correspondents in both places reported. “People here know that when they wake up on Friday they’ll still be living under an Israeli occupation. They won’t, for instance, be in control of their own borders,” reported Nadim Baba from Ramallah, West Bank, amid deafening noise from ecstatic Palestinians. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/11/20121129223421111270.html

Gaza diary: As Palestinians celebrate the UN vote, I’m disappointed / Abeer Ayyoub
Haaretz 30 Nov — I saw them holding Palestine flags, screaming “free Palestine” and playing patriotic songs all over the streets of downtown Gaza. Fatah flags were also there! It’s the same scene I always imagined when I used to dream about Palestine being liberated, or at least, the division ending. But the surprise was that it was neither this nor that: it was Palestinians celebrating the loss of their rights … I was disappointed that when Hamas and Fatah finally decided to be one, their hand damaged the houses of more than five million Palestinians who were ethnically cleansed and forced out of their houses 64 years ago … I always wonder how a Palestinian can be a refugee and adopt the 1967 borders state at the same time. How can you admit that you don’t have the right to live in your own home? http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/gaza-diary-as-palestinians-celebrate-the-un-vote-i-m-disappointed-1.481711

A sad day of ‘victory’ in Ramallah / Haggai Matar
972mag 30 Nov — In spite of the headlines, the international media attention, and the flow of pictures showing celebrating Palestinians waving flags – the UN resolution sparked little excitement or joy in the streets of Ramallah, which is still surrounded by walls and settlements on all sides. If anything, it was an evening of sadness and despair … And why should there be? Aside from the fact that voting results were more or less known in advance, most people I talked to ahead of time felt that the bid would not really change anything on the ground … And still, I went to Ramallah, looking for some kind of hope. After all — this was supposed to be a historic day, feared by Israel, symbolizing growing support for the anti-occupation cause even amongst Israel’s allies in the EU, and the shining achievement that PA officials have been struggling to gain for months if not yearshttp://972mag.com/a-sad-day-of-victory-in-ramallah/61169/

Analysis: The next stop for Palestinians could be global courts / Joseph Schuman
Ma‘an 30 Nov — The UN General Assembly’s overwhelming vote to recognize Palestine as a non-member state offers little prospect for greater clout in world politics but it could make a difference in the international courts … With its upgraded status at the UN, the Palestinians may now seek to apply to the ICC for membership and authority to file war-crimes charges against the Israeli government and its officials … The Palestinians have long planned to use non-membership statehood at the UN, once obtained, as a way to enter the ICC. One Palestinian negotiator, in talking to the International Crisis Group, called the strategy a “legal or diplomatic intifada” against Israel.http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=543564

Is it okay to shoot the messenger? / Daniella Pered
Haaretz 30 Nov — One can argue for the targeted assassination of someone launching a missile. But does the same apply to targeting someone en route to committing an act of propaganda? … On November 21, two cameramen for the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV – Mahmoud al-Kumi and Hussam Salama – were killed in an Israeli missile strike on their car as they traveled through Gaza City, apparently returning from reporting at Al-Shifa hospital … What’s not certain is whether the Israeli military fingered them for elimination because they were involved in a violent struggle outside office hours, or because it believed their professional work turned them into combatants. If the former was the case, the IDF is being coy about the details.
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/is-it-okay-to-shoot-the-messenger.premium-1.481591?localLinksEnabled=false

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SOCCER: Footballers in major European leagues have condemned plans to hold the Under-21 European championship in Israel next year, saying it will be seen as a “reward” for this month’s assault on Gaza in which young people playing football were killed when a sports stadium was bombed.

The signatories, who include Eden Hazard of Chelsea, Abou Diaby of Arsenal and Newcastle players Papiss Cisse, Cheick Tiote, Sylvain Marveaux, Yohan Cabaye and Demba Ba also criticised Israel’s continued detention without charge of two Palestinian footballers.

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